One of the key parts of the future for the Sacramento Kings remains to be guard Isaiah Thomas, who completed only his second year with the franchise this past NBA season.

Thomas had a strong season and seems to be unnoticed at times. He proved himself to be the type of dependable consistent ballplayer that the Kings need in order to have success for an 82-game schedule.

New coach Steve Clifford needs to work with Thomas and make sure Thomas is not forgotten when the Kings formulate plans for 2013-14, by deciding which players to draft and who to keep on the roster for the new season. Last season, Thomas averaged 13.9 points, 2.09 rebounds and 4.90 assists per game. At only 5-9 and 185 pounds, Thomas used every ounce of his body to get the job done for LA.

His nearly two turnovers a game stat needs to shrink, however. His shooting percentages of 44 percent from the floor, 35.8 percent from the behind the arc and 88.2 from the free-throw line were impressive. If he can repeat those figures, the Kings will be all set.

Thomas’ first two seasons have been rather consistent. Last season, he averaged nearly 27 minutes per game. Clifford needs to ask Thomas to give him more minutes and more points. Thomas is good enough to increase his production, but needs to be motivated. That’s what Clifford was hired to do with players like Thomas. Keith Smart did not do a very good job in getting consistency from his players. Clifford needs to change all of that, and the key player to start with is Isaiah Thomas.